Indianpolis (IRP): Jimmy Kite preview

Jimmy Kite to close Silver Crown pavement season at IRP.

STOCKBRIDGE, Ga., Thursday, July 25, 2002 - Jimmy Kite is scheduled to closeout the pavement portion of the 2002 USAC Weld Racing Silver Crown Series on August 1st at Indianapolis Raceway Park (IRP). The 1997 Silver Crown Rookie of the Year will race the #59 Westcon Racing/ Westcon Elevator/ Bloomer Beast in the J.D. Byrider 100 during a week of racing surrounding the Winston Cup Series' Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. This is the Stockbridge, Georgia-residents third race for Westcon Racing during 2002; his fourth Silver Crown race of the season.

"IRP has always been one of my favorite tracks so I am eager to get back there in the Westcon Silver Crown car," commented Kite. "The car was really quick at Richmond and I was coming through the field before we got moved a little high out of the groove. That ended our day there and I was pretty disappointed but the car has been fast so you know the chance to get upfront is there. Things will turn our way. I just hope that we can get everything lined-up at IRP. Winning that race would mean a lot to me."

The three-time Indianapolis 500-starter has turned to his roots during the 2002 season. He is regularly driving the #12 Reddick Maxim chassis/ O-Donely powered winged-sprint car on dirt tracks in Missouri as well as the #95 Tom Cherry Mufflers-Covington Products Beast-Ford in NAMARS and USAC midget competition. He narrowly missed making his fourth Indy 500 in May when weather kept him from making an attempt in the PDM Racing-owned #99 Dallara.

"It is always special whenever you can race at a track with as much history as IRP," commented Kite about the special nature of this race. "It is even better when you are racing in-front of the people that show-up for this one. The fans in central Indiana are just incredible and we'll have all the Winston Cup and Busch guys out there too. You always want to perform in-front of a crowd like that."

Kite began racing quarter-midgets at the age of eight and worked his way up through mini-sprints, midgets, sprint cars and Silver Crown cars to the Indy Racing League. He is a five-time national champion in various open-wheel series with countless victories. He has a career total of 22 Indy Racing events and $1,232,000 in career IRL earnings.

-km-